Nightmares
by scribbles of madness
Summary: He's always been alone. He needed no one. Then she managed to convince him otherwise.


Nightmares

A SasuSaku fanfiction

By screwitall

Summary: He's always been alone. He needed no one. Then she managed to convince him otherwise.

**A/N: I am so proud of this one :) Sentimental!screwitall is entering the building :)**

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO. ONLY THE PLOT. Though I do wish Kishimoto had tried this. It sounds so romantic *sighs wistfully*

* * *

Pale rays of sunlight penetrated through the dark blue curtains. A pair of emerald green eyes fluttered open before their possessor abruptly sat up and wildly scanned the surroundings. She relaxed after she realized where she was.

_I guess I didn't make it home._

Haruno Sakura blinked a few more times, trying to remember the events of the previous night. The last thing she remembered was entering the hospital room to leave another white lily in the vase. Her sides and chest ached from sleeping in a sitting position. She raised a delicate hand to her mouth in an attempt to conceal her yawn. The glow of the moonshine, their rapid heartbeats and the haunting melody of the wind that ran through the night was all too vivid in her mind. As quietly as she could so as not to disturb the boy sleeping on the hospital bed beside her, she removed her hand from his grasp and tiptoed to the window. Her soft footfalls made no sound yet a rustle came from the blankets. He's awake.

"Sakura."

The kunoichi stopped in her tracks. She turned slowly to her right, meeting his lukewarm gaze instead of the cold glare she was accustomed to. Then again, he had revealed a different side to her, letting her fill in the cracks in his heart. Before her was not the man who sought revenge and lusted for power. He was stored away, with the dark side of his heart and all its evil intentions, while the part of him who never had the opportunity to manifest himself came out.

"I'll see you later, Sasuke-kun."

He would be discharged that day. When Tsunade returned to her home village the day before, she healed Sasuke with incredible proficiency and advised him to stay one more day before leaving the hospital.

She licked her lips and observed his reaction. She silently applauded herself for not breaking down into a sob and begging him to not seek Itachi (she heard about what happened from Jiraiya) and for not having the intention to stay one moment longer.

Sasuke watched her as she stood by the window, absentmindedly fingering the ends of her pink locks. Her innocence was such that she was practically blazing with it. He was grateful when he felt her presence by his bed and stayed, even when his shouts of agony rang painfully in her ears. His pain was excruciating and she was there when he went through episodes of it.

She waited.

"Thank you."

She smiled and disappeared out the window, making sure no one saw her. Sakura leapt over roofs and buildings until she reached the street where her house was. She crept inside, careful not to wake her dozing parents, and slipped into her own bed. She stared up at her ceiling, after failing to will herself back to sleep.

_No use trying to sleep anyway_, she thought.

In about an hour, she'll be out the door to meet with her team for training or a mission. She'll be seeing Naruto and Kakashi-sensei and the boy who captured her heart. Sasuke. The smile that never left her lips grew wider and she felt her heart racing as a little fantasy played out in her mind. She imagined him coming up to her and claim her hand, right in front of their teammate and their sensei. She imagined her him sweetly kissing her and thanking her again. She imagined him telling her he has no intention of going away and he would stay right here with her. Barely containing her delight, she gripped her pillow tightly and bit her lip to suppress a squeal. Of course, she was still immune to little fantasies of her crush and thoughts of him make her go crazy. Leaping up from her bed, she went to her, discarding her clothes. She let the warm water from the shower soothe her body. Sasuke's recurring nightmares made him scream often in the night. Sakura hypothesized that that was the reason for Sasuke's raspy voice in the earlier parts of the morning.

She felt his sadness whenever she felt his fingers entwine with her own. She could see his soul through his eyes when they filled with fear and hopelessness. Despite the way he wanted to appear strong and apathetic, Uchiha Sasuke was scared. Who in his position wouldn't? Burdened by the goals he set for himself, the stabbing pain in his heart and _everyone _wanting him for their own purposes, it was all too much. Sakura left the bathroom and donned her usual attire. She walked out of the house and into the streets.

"Good morning, Sakura!" her neighbour called out.

"Good morning!" she greeted back.

She could feel the excitement ripple through her as she neared the bridge where the often met up. A little voice warned her not to get her hopes up but Sakura never listened. She never learns from her mistakes. She could already make out his blue shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back. She picked up her speed into a sprint but her mood soured when she heard a loud, familiar voice in the air.

"You are such an arrogant bastard!"

"At least I'm not a loser like you."

She forced herself to smile. "Naruto! Good morning!"

Sakura hesitated before shyly looking at the other boy. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she said in a much mellower tone.

The container of the Nine-Tails grinned and waved his hello while Sasuke nodded in response, barely even sparing her a glance. Sakura was surprised. She thought at least that Sasuke would try to make conversation. A thousand questions swarmed into her brain at once. Does he even remember last night? Does he regret it? Did he think about her this morning like she thought about him? Why does this sound like something else and not at all what she was thinking of at all? She didn't even wonder why Naruto was earlier today than usual; she was too busy entertaining her own questions, coming up with excuses for Sasuke.

"Um, Sasuke-kun?" she mustered even courage to call his attention.

He didn't say anything, quietly urging her to go on.

"Are you—are you feeling better?" she asked with concern.

This time, he did respond. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto was listening now, watching the exchange before him. He was aware of the times Sakura and Sasuke would have their own private conversations. He knew that though they couldn't exactly be called friends at an outsider's perspective, they noticed things about each other that no one else could. Sakura couldn't enter Sasuke's world, though she allowed him to know her as much as he wants to (of course, he refuses to. He had other things to do); they had a world of their own.

"Yesterday, you were very...um, troubled and—"

Sakura stopped, silenced by the piercing glare Sasuke sent her. He was warning her, threatening her, even, to shut up. She avoided his eyes from there and mumbled something that sounded like, "I'm glad you're okay now."

Naruto angrily stared at Sasuke. He would make Sakura so much happier. What did she see in Sasuke? She doesn't really need him. He didn't care that Sakura could never even tell if he looked troubled yesterday or the other day or last year, for that matter. He just knew he could make her laugh and smile and would let her comfort him if he felt sad.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little bad for treating Sakura that way. After all, she had been a very dependable person. He was always saying he doesn't need anyone, as if being alone for the rest of his life after the Uchiha massacre made him somehow immune to it. He projected this aura that told others he could handle himself. Amused by his own foolishness, he had ruefully called himself a hypocrite, a pretender. How many times had he woken up in the unholiest hours of the night, terrible images plaguing his mind? Itachi's Tsukuyomi horribly scarred him, that's for sure. He recalled how he begged for death to take him then to end the pain. There was nothing worse than what he had gone through. Before Itachi, together with his hateful shark companion, infiltrated the village, Orochimaru had been the villain of his dreams, his cold, golden orbs beckoning him. So when he started to shout last night, it was a surprise when he awoke and saw Sakura hovering over him, her delicate hand clutching his and her eyes filled with worry. He didn't make any move to push her away or tell her to leave him alone. He only closed his eyes again and resumed his slumber. A few hours later, his nightmares happened again and he sat up suddenly, his forehead glistening with sweat. He looked at Sakura, who looked back at him anxiously. Before he lied back down, he learned that _he _was gripping her hand that time.

Discreetly, he glanced at Sakura, who sadly stared at her reflection in the water below the bridge. Then she appeared to be startled, as if someone tapped her on the shoulder, and turned around to see Sasuke looking at her. She didn't blush or turn away. Her gaze rested upon his and just like that, a silent conversation began.

The few days that followed brought forth life-transforming events that eventually led to one night. Bonds started to break under the weight of the many tests that it had gone through.

The girl brought her hand to her chest, tears streaming down her face, and called out to the boy who walked toward the village gate, each step taking him further and further away from her.

"Don't go! If you do, I'll scream and—"

He disappeared for a fleeting moment and she was confused for a split second while her emotions swirled wildly within her. Then she froze when she felt his warm breath against her neck. Her red dress fluttered in the evening breeze. Leaves danced around them and the same song that was whispered in their ears that one unforgettable night now filled her heart. It was a song of hope, of new chapters in life, of love.

"Sakura," Sasuke breathed.

She waited.

"Thank you."

_For being there for me._

_For understanding me._

_For knowing me better than anyone could ever hope to try._

_For being the light in the darkness consuming me._

Sakura knew he'd be back. He would come back for Konoha, for Naruto, for her. He will be happy and she will, too. An invisible smile crept to her lips. He'd be back.

A sudden pain jolted throughout her body and stopped her thoughts. Her brain started to shut down. Her knees buckled under her.

"Sasuke...kun."

Before allowing herself to unconsciousness, she felt his arms around her before she hit the ground. She felt herself being settled down on the cold stone bench but she didn't mind it.

She didn't hear him departing, the footsteps she anticipated that would grow fainter and fainter. Instead, she heard his measured breathing beside her and felt his fingers slowly brush against hers. Who knows? Maybe he's going to stay and watch over her this time. Then she was alone. Stubbornly, she fought against whatever is it that made her drowsy. The memories that had been in her mind when she was trying to convince Sasuke to stay returned and she continued where she left off, cherishing each one, especially the ones with her first and only love.

_Thank you, Sasuke-kun._


End file.
